Editorial Update/Annotation Conventions
Introduction
Annotations are added to items of legislation on legislation.gov.uk to convey editorial information about that legislation. The principal use of annotations is to provide the legislative authority for any changes to the text, or to its meaning.
The various types of annotation are listed below. Further detail is then given about the use of each annotation type, and the conventions for constructing those annotations in the editorial process.
- Note on use of the term “commentary”: Within the editorial systems and supporting facilities, such as the Tables of Effect (ToEs), the term “commentary” is routinely used when referring to footnote annotations. This is a relic of old editorial jargon and is not descriptive of the annotations used on legislation.gov.uk or their purpose. In practice we are careful to avoid providing anything that could be described as “commentary”, except perhaps in the rare situation where an ‘Editorial Comment’ is needed (see ‘X-notes’ below). For this reason, the generic term “annotation” is used throughout this wiki, except when specifically referring to the wording of those editorial systems and facilities where the term “commentary” appears.
| Annotation Type | Initial stands for | Heading used on website | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| F-notes | Footnotes | Amendments (Textual) | Used for amendments (mainly insertions, substitutions and repeals) where there is authority to change the text. |
| C-notes | Crossnotes | Modifications etc. (not altering text) | Used for 'non-textual effects', by which the meaning, scope or application of an Act or provision, etc. is changed in some way, but without there being any authority to alter the text. |
| E-notes | Extent | Extent information | Contains information about the geographic extent of the Act or relevant part of it. |
| I-notes | In-force | Commencement information | Contains information about the coming into force of a provision. |
| P-notes | Power exercised | Subordinate legislation made | Where a provision of primary legislation confers power to make subordinate legislation this annotation may be used to cite any instruments made under that power. |
| M-notes | Marginal citations | Marginal citations | Mainly used to recite the year and number of an Act or instrument mentioned in the text. |
| X-notes | Caution! | Editorial information | Used sparingly to alert users to anything they may need to be aware of, usually some difficulty or uncertainty, in the text of a provision. |
F-notes (Textual Amendments)
For the general principles relating to textual amendments see Editorial Principles - Textual Amendments.
- Textual commentaries (F-note annotations)
The online editorial tools will automatically generate the commentaries according to prescribed rules. However, it is important that you are aware of how the commentaries are put together and what you should look out for when checking them during the update process.
The aim of the commentaries is to give authority for the amendment and allow the user to link to the amending legislation.
Every effect takes a commentary and these must be:
- Accurate – as this is an official record published by the Government
- Specific – the commentaries must be strictly structured according to the editorial conventions.
- location and type of amendment (e.g. Words in s. 1(1)) repealed)
- limitation of the jurisdictional extent (if amending is of lesser extent than the amended)
- whether or when it is in force (e.g. repealed (1.2.2004))
- authorising enactments with short title, year, chapter number, and the affecting provisions of an amending Act or S.I. In the case of an Act or Order, this will also include the commencement provision, if any, together with saving, where appropriate. Commentary will also include details of any subsequent commencing instrument.
The system uses the following logic when generating annotations from the effects:
F-note and C-note general commentary:
[Affected provision][:] [type of effect] [([affecting territorial application or, if none, then affecting extent, if this is narrower than affected extent])] ([IF Date] [IF Date Qualification [IF Date Other]] …) by ["by virtue of", if type of effect = omitted, ceases to have effect] [Affecting legislation title] ([affecting legislation number]), [affecting provision], [commencement authority] [(with [Savs])] [Appended commentary]; [commencing legislation number], [commencing provision] [(with [CO Savs])] [CO Appended commentary] …
"…" indicates the possibility of adding incremental commencement data. The IF Dates and IFDQs of course do not necessarily come from the core effect, but may be added incrementally by subsequent COs which are associated with the core effect via the Commencing Effects Research task.
Where a Suggested Commentary has been entered along with the core effect, this would overwrite the usual construction of the annotation.
Example Annotations:
Words in Sch. 2 para. 4(a)(ii) repealed/substituted/inserted (S.) (1.1.2005) by Update Manual Act 2004 (c. 1), ss. 7, 44(2) (with s. 22)
(where s. 7 is the amending section, s. 44(2) is the commencing section and s. 22 contains a saving )
Art. 3(1) repealed (2.6.2007) by Manual Update (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/1234 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(2), 39(3), Sch. 3
(where art. 1(2) is the commencement provision, art. 39(3) is the omitting provision and Sch. 3 is the repealing provision. We no longer cite the inducing provision of the amending Schedule.)
Points to note:
- We don’t express provisions with the same digits that we insist upon for ExTOEs. So Sch. 2 para. 4(a)(ii) is not expressed in commentaries as “Sch. 02 para, 004(a)(ii)”.
- Punctuation is crucial. It needs to be uniform across every amendment. So in any qualification of extent, there should always be full stops, e.g. “E.W.”, “S”.
- In some instances the reference to the amending legislation may not include to some types of provisions e.g. ‘Groups’. In such cases it may be necessary to add this information to the commentary e.g. Sch. 3 Group 4.
- Non-textual commentaries (C-note annotations)
Much of what has been said about textual commentaries applies to non-textual ones. Again, the online editorial tools will automatically generate the non-textual commentaries according to prescribed rules.
The non-textual effects have already been identified at the mark-up stage, so your task is to ensure that the generated commentaries accurately reflect what has been marked up.
Please follow the guidance in the previous section for textual amendments when you are checking to see whether the generated commentary is accurate.
Note that non-textual effects are always against a provision/sub-provision and never against particular words.
As with textual amendments, if you do need to make some changes it would help the reviewers if you could add a note on the ‘Update Overview’ page alerting them to the fact that some manual editing of the commentary was necessary.I-note general commentary:
[Affected provision] in force at [IF Date] [IF Date Qualification [IF Date Other]] by [commencing legislation number], [commencing provision] [(with [CO Savs])]
e.g. Sch. 2 para. 4(a)(ii) modified (S.) (1.1.2005) by Update Manual Act 2004 (c. 1), ss. 7, 44(2) (with s. 22)(where s. 7 is the amending section, s. 44(2) is the commencing section and s. 22 contains a saving )
Art. 3(1) excluded (2.6.2007) by Manual Update (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/1234 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(2), 39(3), Sch. 3
(where art. 1(2) is the commencement provision, art. 39(3) is the omitting provision and Sch. 3 is the repealing provision. We no longer cite the inducing provision of the amending Schedule.)
C-notes (Non-textual Effects)
See also Editorial Principles - Non-textual effects for the general principles relating to non-textual effects, and also a list of the main types of non-textual effect with example annotations.